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Topic spans: 1944 - 1980
The Birth of Medicare
Since Tommy Douglas helped usher in Canada's medicare system in 1967, it has earned the envy of the international community. Many Canadians see free public health care as the hallmark of what Pierre Elliott Trudeau called "The Just Society." Yet, as the medicare debate has proven, it's a system that is not without its flaws or opponents.
9 television clips
9 radio clips
Tommy Douglas, Canada's father of medicare
Broadcast Date: July 22, 1962
On June 15, 1944, with Canadian troops engaged in the opening stages of the battle to free Europe from the Nazis, a landslide election victory gives Saskatchewan's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation the green light to proceed with radical social justice initiatives like publicly funded health care for all. Led by T.C. (Tommy) Douglas, a Baptist minister turned politician, the CCF's slogan is "Humanity First," a comment on the party's belief that the common good should supersede private interests.Tommy Douglas, Canada's father of medicare
• Tommy Douglas was born in Falkirk, Scotland, on Oct. 20, 1904, and immigrated to Canada with his parents after the First World War. Douglas excelled in many areas of interest, including drama, debating and boxing, in which he was a flyweight champion.• While Douglas is widely regarded as the father of medicare, Matt Anderson initiated the first health care program in the municipality of McKillop, Sask. Anderson's plan, which was later passed as the "Matt Anderson Bill" in 1939, allowed for access to a municipal doctor, 21 days of hospital care, and prescription drugs for an annual fee of five dollars.
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18 clips in this topic . page
Television
2:44
Feb. 24, 1986
Stephen Lewis eulogizes Tommy Clement Douglas, the father of medicare who died today at the age of 81.
Topic
Tommy Douglas was the most influential politician never to be elected Prime Minister. He pursued his radical ideas relentlessly until they became so mainstream rival politicians claimed them as their own...
Tommy Douglas, Canada's father of medicare.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: Nov. 27, 2006.
[Page consulted on Feb. 9, 2010.]